Anthony Edwards has faced his hometown Atlanta Hawks four times in his young career, but he has scored just 57 total points. Tonight, Edwards and his Minnesota Timberwolves head to Atlanta to battle Trae Young and Edwards may be in line for his first breakout game against this team.
In Dallas, the Mavericks will host the Memphis Grizzlies after losing to them on Saturday night in Memphis. It was the Grizzlies first win without Ja Morant in the lineup. Desmond Bane led the way with 25 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Dallas may get Kyrie Irving back tonight, but Memphis will need another big performance from Bane to pull out a win on the road.
In the nightcap, the Phoenix Suns will be in San Francisco to battle the Golden State Warriors in a key game for playoff positioning. I expect Stephen Curry to have his fingerprints all over this game, however not in the way you might expect.
Before you fill out your brackets, let's dive into these NBA props.
NBA Player Props & Picks
Anthony Edwards Over 27.5 Points (-110)
| Spread | Hawks -5.5 |
| Time | TV | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Best Line | DraftKings |
Edwards is coming off consecutive 32-point outings against the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets. He has been a bit up and down of late, going over this line in five of his past 10 games. In that span, he has four 30-point games. He was also hooked with 27 points and had four games under 20 points.
In the games in which Edwards struggled, he faced some of the top defensive units in the league: Grizzlies, Warriors (at home), Lakers (post-trade deadline) and the Clippers with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. That will not be the case on Monday. Edwards gets the Hawks who rank 21st in points allowed and 24th in field goal percentage. They are 22nd in defensive efficiency for the season. However, they have been worse over their last 10 games, ranking 25th in defensive efficiency.
With Karl Anthony-Towns still out of the lineup, Edwards is the Wolves' No. 1 offensive option. He has the volume to back that up. Over the past two months (plus four March games), Edwards has averaged over 20 field goal attempts per game. He may have a chance at a few more shots given the pace at which both of these teams play. The Timberwolves rank fifth in Pace while the Hawks are 10th this season.
With a close spread in a game with a total of 244.5 points, Edwards will have to score for the Timberwolves to get pace. He may need another 30 point outing to help the Timberwolves to pull out a win on the road.
Desmond Bane Over 10.5 Reb + Ast (-108)
| Spread | Grizzlies -1.5 |
| Time | TV | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Best Line | FanDuel |
Grizzlies point guard Tyus Jones has done an admirable job filling in for Ja Morant. He's had 10 assists or more assists in three of the past four games without Morant.
Another player who has had increasing playmaking responsibilities is Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane. The third-year guard is averaging five rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for the season. However, over his last four games, he is averaging 4.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists for an average of 10.8 combined.
He has only gone over this line once in his past four games, although he did finish with 10 rebounds + assists twice. On Saturday, Bane finished with seven rebounds and eight assists to easily clear this line. In that game, Dallas went 15-for-43 from deep and the misses set up good opportunities to track down long rebounds. Dallas has attempted at least 38 3s in every game this month.
Bane's eight assists were the most he has had in his past 23 games. However, Bane is averaging 6.3 assists on 9.8 potential assists over his past four games. The Mavericks have given up at least 112 points in every game this month and 25 assists in four of five games.
Considering his performance on Saturday night, this line is not asking from Bane. He can clear it with either five rebounds and six assists or six rebounds and five assists.
Stephen Curry Over 10.5 Reb + Ast (-122)
| Spread | Warriors -4.5 |
| Time | TV | 10 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Best Line | FanDuel |
By now, it is well established that Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history. However, you may be surprised to know that he is one of the best rebounding guards in the league as well. Curry has averaged at least five rebounds per game in each of the past six seasons. This season, he is averaging a career-high 6.2 rebounds per game, second among point guards.
Curry also averages 6.3 assists per game on 11 potential assists this seasons. Playing with accurate shooters like Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole helps convert those passes into assists. Combined, Curry is averaging 12.5 rebounds and assists, so he is clearing this line by two on average. Curry has gone over this line in six of his past nine games. He is averaging 12.8 rebounds and assists in that span.
Curry also went over this line in two of three meetings against the Suns this season. This matchup is important for playoff position as the Warriors are 2.5 games back of the Suns for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. The game has a close spread with a total of 240 points.
While Curry should be effective scoring himself in this matchup, a high-scoring game will help his assists. If Curry plays his usual 35 minutes per game, he should go over with this line and likely with ease.
